Vintage leather ‘n lace.
“Jes’ talkn’ about old leather boots, worn and weathered.”
Would you call these old shoes collectibles? Unappealing to some no doubt. Very appealing to me. I have collected a few pairs now.
I wonder who trod in these?
Were they worn in a life of hard, gruelling days of slow wearisome toil?
Perhaps by a young farmer in open-necked shirt and wide-brimmed hat in a journey of crops, dust and dirt.
Perhaps they belonged to a young punk rocker.
Perhaps worn in combat by a young soldier.
Perhaps the gardener, a labourer in the vineyards here toiling back and forth, up and down the long contoured rows ….
Rich and textured.
Construction boots, work boots, farm boots, fashion, punk or rocker boots, maybe a pair of army boots in the lot.
Old leather boots often became very personal to the wearer and were worn and worn, repaired and repaired.
Curled up from wear, from moisture. Weathered and distressed.
Tried and tested they sit outside in the veranda area now.
Sometimes, lightly cobwebbed by spiders living in the dark recesses.
Sometimes I hang a pair from a veranda rafter or on the old post.
I found a discarded roll of thin leather strapping for lacing where needed.
What do the soles of these shoes bear witness to I wonder?
Not spared all the wear upon them though as the leather and soles remain sturdy as does the stitching so could be plenty of wear left in them (once the spiders are evicted).
Endearing in the way, left on the veranda, I only have to take a deep inhalation and half close my eyes to think back to growing up on the farm and seeing Dad’s well worn work boots by the back door ready for his early morning start the next morning.
Ah, Loui Jover’s art again. Yes, I’m a fan as in this earlier post.
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